Dental Erosion and Tea: A Systematic Review

1. Introduction: Tooth erosion is a growing oral health problem. Practitioners and other healthcare professionals should be aware of which drinks can cause erosion and what can safely be recommended to patients. Tea is a popular beverage greatly consumed around the world. The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between tea and dental erosion through a systematic review.2. Methods: A systematic review was carried out by 5 dentists and a scientist. The research was conducted in July 2012 on Medline from PubMed interface using the boolean equation (Tooth Erosion [Mesh]) AND Tea [Mesh]. After selection of articles, data were extracted and analyzed.3. Results: 8 articles were selected including one cross-sectional epidemiological study and 7 laboratory studies. The non-erosive effect was observed with green tea and black tea in sugar-free infusion. The erosive effect was confirmed for the fruity tea, the herbal tea (ginger and vanilla), Ice tea and sugary tea. No study has been conducted on oolong tea so far.4. Conclusions: Dental erosion is related to the consumption of certain types of tea or when tea is sweetened. The dentist may authorize the use of unsweetened tea for its non-erosive effect.